This is the last Bite in our series of Regulatory hurdles in the schooling sector in India. This last one is a real rollercoaster. The highs and lows of being a Non Profit are at their extremes when a school wants to grow today.

So, the question is – How easy is it for a well-operated school to grow – whether open new branches or serve more students?

Lending and Scale: One unintended consequence of mandating the schools to be non-profit is that it has curbed the investor interest in directly funding private schools. 

There has been a ton of investor interest in School Management consulting services. Companies like Lead School have raised millions of dollars from investors globally. But, there has been no interest in funding the schools directly as there is no legal way to make returns on that investment.

The philanthropic activities in the sector are very high though. Between, 2013-2017, 5000 crores was pumped by companies under their CSR fund which is about 33% of the total CSR. This money largely focuses on Education policy and training.

The final question – Do existing regulation help the delivery of education?

No. Complex, non-contextual practices in our country leads to the wastage of time and money, and discourage quality entrants, affecting the education quality negatively.

That is all. This was an insightful series for me. What about you?